"Serenar," Rael replied, his voice annoyingly calm and level.
Zuzu stumbled, catching herself before she fell. "Serenar?" she repeated, her voice cracking with a blend of exhaustion and sheer incredulity. "The elven continent? That's a week's journey by the fastest ship! Don't tell me we're actually going to run across the ocean. Is he trying to kill me?" The intrusive thought struck her with the force of a physical blow.
Rael didn't break his stride, but a faint chuckle escaped him, as if he had heard her silent lament. "Don't worry. We won't be taking the scenic route to Serenar." He gestured vaguely ahead. "I've got a shortcut there."
Zuzu could only think, a fresh wave of exasperation washing over her, He really is just lazy.
A few minutes later, Rael came to an abrupt halt at the edge of a windswept cliff overlooking the churning sea. Below, a small, bustling port town was nestled in a cove, its whitewashed buildings gleaming in the sun.
"Ohh," he said, a note of satisfaction in his voice. "We're here."
Zuzu looked down, then back at him, panting. "Here where? This is just a fishing village."
Rael simply smiled and started down a narrow, well-worn path leading into the town. "This way."
As they wound through the crowded market streets, Zuzu observed the lively chaos. Fishermen hawked their glistening catches, merchants bartered over spices, and children weaved through the legs of travelers. It was a world away from the structured formality of the royal capital.
"For someone who spends most of his time lazing around," Zuzu commented, her curiosity cutting through her fatigue, "you sure do know a lot of obscure places."
Rael navigated the crowded lanes with the unerring confidence of a local. "That's because I spent a lot of time here," he said, his gaze drifting over the familiar scene with a hint of nostalgia. "The best shortcuts aren't found on maps. They're found in the memories of ports like this."
He led her away from the main market, toward a quieter, more weathered part of the docks, where the air of mystery deepened, and the true nature of his "shortcut" awaited.
The world dissolved in a whirl of emerald light, and when it solidified, Zuzu and Rael were no longer on the dusty road outside Arcadia. They stood in a secluded, sun-dappled grove where the air hummed with a deeper, more ancient magic. Before them stood a man, his arms crossed and a look of expectation on his face, as if he had been waiting for them. He was dressed in practical, travel-worn leathers, and a calm authority radiated from him.
"Rael," the man said, a familiar smile gracing his features. "Took you long enough."
"Zuko," Rael replied, his own grin appearing. "I see your tracking spells are as sharp as ever."
Zuzu looked between them, the pieces clicking into place. This wasn't a random clearing; Rael's "shortcut" had taken them directly to an ally.
"The Cursed Doll's trail is cold, Rael," Zuko stated, his tone turning serious. "You won't find its creator by chasing echoes. But the puppet himself … nihilastra … he holds the key."
"She's unconscious. Her soul is locked away," Zuzu interjected, her training taking over. "No healer in Arcadia can reach it."
"Precisely," Zuko nodded, his gaze shifting to her. "The doll's magic doesn't just corrupt; it imprisons the soul. To wake her, you need a key to that prison." He looked back at Rael, his expression grave. "You need to go to Serenar. The elves there possess soul-mending arts lost to the rest of the world. It is your only chance."
Rael's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a calculating stillness. "Serenar is a long journey. Time is a luxury we don't have."
"I know," Zuko said. "Which is why there is another path. A more direct, though no less dangerous, one." He pulled a small, crystalline compass from his pouch. "There is an artifact, the Star Germ. It is a fragment of celestial power that can purify corrupted bonds and call a lost soul back to its body. It can be your key."
"Where?" Rael's question was a sharp blade.
"The high temples of Elaine," Zuko answered, handing the compass to Rael. "This will guide you. But be warned, the days are numbered. Every hour that passes, nihilastra's soul fades further. If it vanishes completely, not even the Star Germ will bring her back."
Rael took the compass, its needle glowing with a soft, starlight hue. "Then we don't have a moment to lose. Elaine it is."
Zuko's form began to shimmer, his translocation magic activating. "Good luck. The fate of more than one soul may depend on this." With a final nod, he vanished.
Rael turned to Zuzu, the compass in his palm. "Ready for another shortcut?"
Before Zuzu could answer, the air around them twisted once more. The serene grove melted away, replaced by the stark, majestic architecture of Elaine. They stood in a vast courtyard of white stone, surrounded by towering spires that pierced the clouds. The air was thin and cold.
As Zuzu steadied herself, a voice, cold and dripping with contempt, cut through the silence.
"Well, well. Look what the drake dragged in."
Zuzu froze. She knew that voice. Slowly, she turned to face a man clad in the impeccable, silver-trimed armor of the Elaine guard captain. His face was a handsomer, crueler version of her own, and his eyes held no warmth, only disdain. It was her older brother, Yugi.
"Yugi," she said, her voice tight.
He didn't even glance at Rael, his focus entirely on her, a predator circling its prey. "I heard a rumor that the disgrace of our family had been seen consorting with common adventurers. I didn't want to believe it. To think a daughter of our line, a supposed 'Sword Saint,' would lower herself so."
He took a step closer, his gaze sweeping over her, lingering on the polearm strapped to her back.
"And you still carry that… stick," he sneered. "A true Sword Saint of Elaine wields a blade, something that requires skill and precision. Not a brute's weapon for those who cannot master the true art. It is a testament to your failure, sister. Your inability to wield a sword is a stain on our name. Tell me, do they even know in Arcadia that their 'Saint' is a fraud?"
Zuzu's hand clenched into a fist at her side, her knuckles turning white. The old wound, the one her brother knew how to prod so perfectly, bled anew under the weight of his words. Rael watched silently, his expression unreadable, as the ghosts of Zuzu's past stepped out of the shadows to block their path.